Daily Archives: September 23, 2012

Galatians 5:13-14

13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

How do we serve as Christians – in our workplace, at home, at church, in our community? Many make the terrible mistake of believing that by pointing out the problems, the sins, the wilfulness of others, and by pronouncing God’s impending judgement on them, they are serving the kingdom. Untrue. If this is your dogma, then your Christian life is in the condition of the Freedom School shown here – empty and falling in on itself.

Rather, we are called to be FREE. First, FREE from the consequences of sin, through Christ. Second, FREE from fear, as our faith takes control. And third, and maybe most important, FREE to serve one another in love – by replacing judgement and disdain, with the heart of Christ. IF the entire law is summed up in the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself”, THEN, we need to FREE ourselves and others through leading and serving in LOVE.

Those we “serve”, our co-workers, our family members, our congregation, our neighbors, should have confidence in the consistency of our character – founded in LOVE. Our pastor, Dr. Gary Dyer, said today, “You can serve others without it being motivated by LOVE; but you cannot LOVE others without it being manifested in service.” As Christians, we should lead thorough service, service motivated by love – this is how a servant speaks.

1 Corinthians 13:3-5

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

FREEDOM is found in service that is motivated by REAL LOVE. FREEDOM is a gift, a blessing. We bless those around us, those we influence, when we GET REAL and let them know the truth of LOVE in our lives. LOVE serves and is not characterized by the values of the world – envy, pride, rudeness, selfishness, anger, resentment, etc. Instead, patience and kindness. The world doesn’t need us to pronounce God’s impending judgement, this is already done. Instead, we are called to the rescue. We are called to be FREEDOM fighters. Join the revolution! Serve and lead with LOVE – THE guiding standard.